Sylvia Grace Acosta

Counsel

Sylvia Grace Acosta has over 25 years of wide-ranging litigation experience.  Ms. Acosta’s current practice includes insurance defense, construction defect, dram shop, premises liability, insurance bad faith litigation, and coverage disputes.  She also handles commercial litigation, real estate matters, estate planning, and workers’ compensation.   

Ms. Acosta is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, where she instructs and mentors students on arbitration and negotiation. She is an active member and Past President of the Utah Minority Bar Association, and active with the Women Lawyers of Utah and Utah Center for Legal Inclusion.

Bar Admissions

  • Utah, 2003
  • Nebraska (inactive), 1997
  • California (inactive), 2002
  • Idaho (inactive), 2010

Location

Salt Lake City Office

Education

JD: University of Nebraska College of Law, 1997
BA: Auburn University, 1994, Psychology and English

Contact

acostag@hallevans.com

More About
Grace

Career Distinctions & Honors
  • Martindale-Hubbell®, AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated
  • Law Clerk, Utah Court of Appeals, Hon. William A. Thorne, Jr., 2002-2004
Professional Associations
  • Utah Minority Bar Association
  • Women Lawyers of Utah
  • Utah Center of Legal Inclusion

Grace A. Seger

Associate

Grace Seger defends clients in Kansas and Missouri in matters involving premises liability, transportation, construction defects, and products liability. Before joining Hall & Evans in 2025, Grace practiced at a civil litigation firm in Overland Park, Kansas. She also previously represented plaintiffs in personal injury matters, giving her a balanced perspective on both sides of litigation.

In addition to her practice, Grace is heavily involved in legal education. She currently serves as the Head Coach of the University of Kansas Undergraduate Mock Trial team, mentoring more than 50 students in trial advocacy. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, where she assists in coaching the law school’s competitive mock trial team.

Grace earned her J.D., with Pro Bono Distinction, from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2022. During law school, she was actively involved in Mock Trial, Moot Court, Traffic Court, and the Project for Innocence.

Bar Admissions

  • Missouri, 2022
  • Kansas, 2025

Location

Kansas City Office

Education

JD: University of Kansas School of Law, 2022

BA: University of Kansas, 2019, Psychology and Political Science

Contact

segerg@hallevans.com

More About
Grace

Career Distinctions & Honors
  • Top 40 Under 40 Plaintiff Civil Attorney, National Trial Lawyers Association, 2023
  • Pro Bono Distinction, University of Kansas School of Law, 2022
  • Advocacy Award, National Mock Trial Association, 2022
  • Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss Award for Excellence in Advocacy, 2020
Professional Associations
  • The Missouri Bar
  • Kansas Bar Association
Business & Community Service
  • Head Coach, University of Kansas Undergraduate Mock Trial Team, 2019-present
Professional Experience
  • Adjunct Professor-Mock Trial Team, University of Kansas School of Law, 2024-present

Marcella Alvarez Morgan

Associate

Marcella Alvarez Morgan has a broad range of civil litigation experience representing individuals, businesses, and insurers. Ms. Morgan’s practice includes premises liability, construction, trucking, employment, and environmental matters. She is also experienced with commercial real estate, business transactions, trademark, and copyright matters.

Prior to joining Hall & Evans, Ms. Morgan was a litigator at firms in Albuquerque, NM and Boston, MA. While attending Northeastern University School of law, she served as an intern with a global financial services company, a real estate investment trust company, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, and a legal aid foundation. Ms. Morgan is licensed in New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Texas.

Bar Admissions

  • New Mexico, 2023
  • Massachusetts, 2020
  • Texas, 2022
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico
  • U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts

Location

Santa Fe Office

Education

JD: Northeastern University School of Law, 2019

BA: Colorado College, 2012, Russian and Literature

Contact

morganm@hallevans.com

More About
Marcella

Professional Associations
  • State Bar of New Mexico, Young Lawyers Division
Articles & Publications // Presentations // Webinars
  • Co-author, “New Media and Advocacy,” Understanding Nonviolence, Chapter 6, Wiley, 2015
Languages
  • Russian

Aaron C. Garrett

Senior Associate

Aaron Garrett’s practice includes business transactional work, complex commercial litigation, employment law, premises liability, and construction defect matters.  Mr. Garrett frequently represents nonprofits in the areas of formation, obtaining tax exemption, legal compliance, contracts, and other transactions.

Previously, Mr. Garrett co-founded a boutique law firm, and a nonprofit legal services firm based in Salt Lake City. He also served as a trust specialist for the Utah State Board of Education.

Bar Admissions

  • Utah, 2009
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
  • U.S. District Court, District of Utah
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Location

Salt Lake City Office

Education

JD: University of College of William & Mary Law School, 2009
BA: University of Southern California, 2003, Art History

Contact

garretta@hallevans.com

More About
Aaron

Career Distinctions & Honors
  • Editor-in-Chief, William & Mary Law Review, 2008-2009

Professional Associations
  • Utah State Bar

John J. Roberts

Senior Counsel

John is an experienced trial and appellate attorney primarily focusing on professional liability, professional licensure, and construction defect cases. John defends architects, engineers, and other licensed professionals in professional liability matters before administrative agencies, district courts, and appellate courts.

Before joining Hall & Evans, John served as a First Assistant Attorney General advising and representing state regulatory agencies and supervising a team of attorneys. John spent over two decades with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office in the Business & Licensing Section. John counseled and litigated cases for professional licensing boards and regulatory agencies statewide, including the Board for Licensure of Architects, Professional Engineers, and Professional Land Surveyors; the Board of Nursing; the Public Utilities Commission; the Mined Land Reclamation Board; the Plumbing and Electrical Boards; and the Passenger Tramway Safety Board.

John began his career in private practice, counseling clients in transactional and litigation matters including employment, corporate, real estate, intellectual property, oil and gas, and estate planning.

Location

Denver Office

Education

JD: University of Denver Sturm College of Law, 1998

MA: Colorado State University, 1993, History

BA: University of Colorado, 1991, Psychology

Contact

robertsj@hallevans.com

More About
John

Career Distinctions & Honors
  • Eagle Scout – Boy Scouts of America, Western Alaska Council
Articles & Publications // Presentations // Webinars
  • Speaker, “Speak No Evil: First Amendment Issues for Regulatory Boards,” Federation of Associations of Regulatory Boards Forum, January 2009

  • Speaker, “Speak No Evil: First Amendment Issues for Regulatory Boards,” Federation of Associations of Regulatory Boards Attorney Certification Seminar, October 2009

  • Speaker, “Employee Training: Legal Concerns for Agency Employees – CORA, OML, Hearings, and Best Practices,” Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, September 2007

  • Author, “High Line Canal,” HAER CO-43, Colorado Department of Transportation, April 1994

  • Author, “86th Street Aluminum Overpass,” HAER IA-42, Iowa Department of Transportation, February 1994

  • Author, “Iowa Bridge Overview,” Iowa Department of Transportation, December 1993

  • Author, “Rock House Ford Bridge,” HAER MO-78, Missouri Department of Transportation, November 1993